The biennial one-million-euro Millennium Technology Prize has been awarded to Dr. Tuomo Suntola.
Suntola’s prize-winning ALD (atomic layer deposition) innovation is a
nanoscale technology in use all over the world. ALD is used to
manufacture ultra-thin material layers for microprocessors and digital
memory devices. The technology allows building of complex,
three-dimensional structures one atomic layer at a time.

ALD is a versatile technology, instrumental in numerous high-tech
sectors. Components with thin films made with the ALD technique are used
in practically all modern computers and smartphones. Thanks to the
constantly evolving ALD technology, IT equipment has become smaller and
less expensive yet more powerful. Suntola’s innovation is one of the key
factors in the continuation of the famous Moore’s Law that has kept its
validity to this day: the efficiency of microchips has doubled at
approximately two-year intervals while their price has decreased.

The extremely thin isolating or conducting films needed in
microprocessors and computer memory devices can only be manufactured
using the ALD technology developed by Tuomo Suntola.

“The ALD method is a textbook example of a technology that is hidden
from users but is nevertheless vital for visible development. ALD has
also made the ownership of information technology more democratic,
thereby contributing to the wider access to information and
communication,” says Academy Professor Päivi Törmä, Chair of the Millennium Technology Prize Selection Committee.

From theory to innovation by Tuomo Suntola

Tuomo Suntola developed ALD technology and the equipment for the
manufacture of thin films back in the 1970s and then acquired
international patents for them, thus enabling the industrial production
of thin films on a mass scale. Fundamental research that underlies ALD
technology had also been conducted in the former Soviet Union by
Professors Valentin B. Aleskovsky (1912–2006) and Stanislav I. Koltsov
(1931–2003).

“Tuomo Suntola’s innovations led to the large-scale commercial
utilisation of the ALD method. He saw the huge potential of atomic layer
deposition and thin-film technology in microelectronics and information
technology,” says Päivi Törmä, Chair of the Board of the Millennium
Technology Prize Selection Committee.

Suntola himself considers the breakthrough in electronics his greatest achievement.

“When the semiconductor sector came to understand the significance of
ALD technology in the early 2000s, its use exploded,” says Tuomo
Suntola, winner of the Millennium Technology Prize.

“Being awarded the Millennium Technology Prize is a great honour for
me, especially because the innovation has proved useful in so many
applications that improve the quality of life for humanity.”

New applications in medicine

The winning innovation has a firm position in the IT sector and a
great future in many other fields as well. Research has yielded
promising results with manufacturing ALD thin films for medical
instruments and coating of implants. Startups have been formed to
commercialise the technology in applications such as controlled release
in the human body.

The ALD method can be used to improve the efficiency of solar panels,
LED lights and lithium batteries for electric cars and its use has also
been researched for environmentally friendly packaging materials.
ALD-films are used in optical applications, and also on watches and
silver jewellery to prevent corrosion.

Today the global market of equipment and chemicals used for the
manufacture of ALD films is estimated to be about two billion US
dollars, and the market value of consumer electronics relying on ALD
technology is at least five hundred billion dollars.

“World-class ALD expertise has been developed in Finland. I hope that
the prize will inspire Finnish researchers and companies to invest in
new technological applications,” says Professor Marja Makarow, Chair of the Board of Technology Academy Finland.

The international Millennium Technology Prize was awarded in Helsinki on 22 May 2018.The Millennium Technology Prizeis
a Finnish one-million-euro award presented every second year in honour
of a pioneering technological innovation that improves people’s quality
of life and promotes sustainable development.The winning innovations must have extensive positive social impacts, be commercially viable and promote the welfare of humanity.The Millennium Technology Prize is awarded by Technology Academy Finland.